At least 4 dead after tornados rip through St. Lucie County during Milton: officials

At slightest 4 radical were killed Wednesday aft respective tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton touched down astatine a elder assemblage successful St. Lucie County, Florida, the St. Lucie County Emergency Operations Center confirmed to FOX Weather.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said hunt and rescue crews were mobilizing to find victims successful Spanish Lakes Country Club successful Fort Pierce, wherever important tornados ripped done the area.

"They didn’t basal a chance," Pearson said. "Everything successful (the tornado's) way is conscionable devastated. Our deputies are retired determination adjacent portion the tempest Milton is approaching with National Guardsmen, with hunt and rescue teams going done the rubble."

HURRICANE MILTON MAKES LANDFALL, SLAMMING INTO FLORIDA WITH DESTRUCTIVE WINDS, CATASTROPHIC STORM SURGE

The twisted metallic from a St. Lucie County Sheriff's bureau gathering implicit a constabulary vehicle. ( ERIC HASERT/TCPALM / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The sheriff reported that hundreds of homes were either damaged oregon destroyed successful the county. The nonstop fig of radical trapped and successful request of rescue is unknown.

"We’ve got astir 300 members of instrumentality enforcement and volunteers retired determination sifting done these residences connected the rescue ngo to spot if we tin get anybody other retired of there," Pearson told FOX Weather.

A gathering astatine the sheriff's bureau was among those that were damaged. 

Video of Pearson taken extracurricular the office showed a 10,000 quadrate ft gathering that was demolished by a tornado, with respective constabulary vehicles crushed beneath twisted metal. Pearson said nary 1 was wrong and nary 1 was injured.

WATCH: Sheriff describes devastating tornado harm to St. Lucie County Sheriffs bureau building

ROOF OF TROPICANA FIELD RIPPED OPEN BY HURRICANE MILTON

The tornados preceded Milton making landfall successful the county, Erick Gill, the St. Lucie County spokesperson told Fox & Friends connected Thursday.

Gill said that 2 tornadoes successful the country were confirmed and determination whitethorn person been arsenic galore arsenic a twelve twisters full that struck St. Lucie. He said much than 900 calls were made to the county’s exigency operations halfway astir tornado activity.

He said that the region had not fixed exigency evacuation orders since the country was expected to beryllium deed by the borderline of the hurricane and that tornadoes tin look adjacent successful regular storms.

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St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson describing the tornado harm to a constabulary building. (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office)

"All the projections coming successful yesterday… we didn’t expect the tornado enactment that we saw yesterday," Gill said. "I’ve worked for St. Lucie County for 21 years, I’ve been done aggregate storms present and this has been the worst I’ve ever seen."

He urged residents to stay astatine location and fto archetypal responders bash their job.

More than 3 cardinal radical successful Florida were without powerfulness Thursday after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key past nighttime arsenic a damaging Category 3 storm.

Milton, which is simply a Category 1 tempest astatine the clip of this report, has presently moved disconnected Florida's eastbound seashore aft bringing damaging winds, flooding rains and a processing tempest surge menace to that area.

At slightest 4 radical were killed Wednesday aft respective tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton touched down astatine Spanish Lakes Country Club successful Fort Pierce, a seniors community. (Google Maps)